TOLEDO, OH – Toledo closed out its non-conference season with a third-straight impressive performance in a 90-73 triumph over Northern Kentucky (4-7). The victory extended the Rockets' win streak to a season-high three games and improved UT's overall record to 9-4.
Senior center Nathan Boothe topped five Rockets in double figures with a game-high 24 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds and tallied a team-best five assists in 32 minutes.
Junior guard Jonathan Williams registered 15 points and helped the Rockets to a dominating 42-26 advantage on the boards with a season-best nine rebounds. Freshmen Nate Navigato and Jaelan Sanford each notched 13 points, while junior forward Zach Garber posted 12 points and seven rebounds.
Toledo shot 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from three-point range and tallied 10 treys for a third consecutive contest. That was overshadowed by a school-record tying 20-of-20 performance from the charity stripe. UT also hit all 20 free throws vs. Chicago State on Dec. 31, 2012.
Senior guard Tyler White (20 pts.), sophomore guard Lavone Holland II (18 pts.) and freshman forward Drew McDonald (18 pts.) combined to score 58 of the Norse's 73 points. UT limited NKU's leading scorer and rebounder, senior forward Jalen Billups, to five points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.
Boothe came out on fire, scoring 12 of UT's first 16 points to help stake the Rockets to a 16-11 advantage just over six minutes into the contest.
Toledo extehded its lead to as many as 11 points on three occasions in the opening stanza before seeing it dwindle in the final two minutes. The Norse tallied the last eight points, including a Holland trey at the buzzer, to cut UT's lead to 45-44 at the half.
Sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley provided the Rockets some breathing room in the early stages of the second half with five straight points for a six-point cushion, 50-44. Williams' back-to-back trey put UT's lead back into double digits, 58-47, at the 16:01 mark.
Five straight points from White brought the visitors within single digits, 62-54, with 12:12 left but that as close as NKU would come.
The Rockets put the game away with a 17-5 burst over the next five minutes for a 79--59 advantage with 7:10 to play. Boothe and Williams began the spurt by knocking down a pair of free throws, with Navigato culminating the game-deciding stretch with his third trey of the contest.
Toledo returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 6 when it opens Mid-American Conference play against Ball State (8-4) in Muncie, IN. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m.
